From Zero to Hero
by La5021
Summary: AU. Disney's Hercules, Percy Jackson style.
1. Chapter 1

_**I've had this idea floating around for a while and I thought I'd give it a go :) I'm unaware of anyone else writing something like this, so any similarity - if there are any - is completely unintentional.**_

_**I've done my best to check for any typos, spelling and grammar errors, but if you see any, just let me know and I'll fix them.**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not (unfortunately) own Percy Jackson or any other of the characters from the series. I also do not own Disney's Hercules.**_

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**Chapter 1**

Percy Jackson ran through the musty halls of Goode High School as if chased by a psychopath wielding a knife. He was late on his first day. His first day! How was that even possible?

After missing the bus from the stop in front of the Manhattan apartment he shared with his parents, he'd hailed a cab only to be stopped by the Monday morning traffic of the busy New York City. Ten minutes into the traffic jam, he'd left the cranky cabby swearing his rage at the rest of the world, to proceed on foot. _This can't get any worse_.

The weather it seemed, accepted his challenge and a few minutes later the heavens were raining down on the pedestrians, caught unaware as the heavy clouds had appeared out of nowhere.

Fifteen minutes and five blocks later, Percy Jackson had sprinted through the front doors of the high school, barely acknowledging the security guard sat in the reception, leaving behind a trail of water and muddy footprints.

Turning right down the corridor he knew led to his Algebra class, he ran straight into the person going in the opposite direction. His fall was broken by something incredibly soft. "Umph!"

He looked down to find two piercing grey eyes glaring at him angrily. "Well, are you going to get off of me or what?" asked the girl, who Percy didn't recognize. She shoved him off of her with surprising strength and attempted to get off of the floor only to slip on the water he'd trailed in from the downpour outside.

He stood and with an apologetic smile he held his hand out to the girl to help her off the wet floor. The girl with blond hair and grey eyes refused and stalked off without as much as another glance in his direction.

Percy shrugged and continued on to his first class, which by now - if he was not mistaken - was almost halfway through. _Great. Detention on my first day back_.

He knocked on the door, already dreading Mrs. Dodds' furious tirade - and Percy would know. He'd been on the end of them more times than he could count.  
A raspy 'Come in!' answered his knock as he turned the knob.

He was sorely tempted to close his eyes to avoid the stares and sniggers that were sure to follow, but he didn't, fully prepared to take the full brunt of the woman's temper head on.

Mrs. Dodds was a petite woman with grey hair that was always held back in a bun. She very rarely wore anything other than a plain dark skirt that fell well beyond her knees, flat black shoes that were scuffed from use, and a simple blue blouse. What stood out was the leather jacket that she was never seen without. It somehow seemed out of place for the aging school teacher.

Her eyes, hidden behind thickly framed glassed were as dark as coal as they regarded sixteen-year old Percy Jackson. The rest of the class stared at him with mild amusement, taking in his soaked appearance. His shoes certainly felt wet as did his t-shirt which stuck to his chest and upper arms. He was likely to get a cold after that.

He risked a glance at Mrs. Dodds only to find her glaring at him, much like the girl in the hall had earlier.

"I'm sorry for being late, Mrs. Dodds. It won't happen again." He thought he heard her snort, but he wasn't stupid enough to call her out on it.

"Detention, Mr. Jackson," was all she said, again in that raspy voice before sitting down at the desk again. He nodded. He was already in enough trouble for the day. But for some reason the sound of her voice, although completely normal as he'd heard it a thousand times before, sent chills down his spine.

He frowned and sat down in the only available seat left next to the girl with spiky black hair and electric blue eyes, who looked extremely bored. She didn't even look up at him as he pulled out his book from his bag.

Percy turned his attention to the letters and numbers of his Algebra book, but his dyslexia had worsened in the last few weeks, ever since his birthday. To quell his already growing headache, he took another glance at the girl sat next to him.

She wore heavy eye-liner under her blue eyes that crackled like electricity, dark jeans with holes at the knee length and further up her thighs, a black t-shirt that read 'Death to Barbie' with the picture of a decapitated Barbie Doll head. All in all the girl looked like the regular Goths that attended Goode, but he didn't recognize her and he'd known all of classmates since freshman year.

Mrs. Dodd drawled on while he ignored her and instead he concentrated on the swim trials that were to take place later that day. Percy was a virtual shoe-in for a place on the team, but the coach liked to keep things fair.

The bell woke him up from his stupor sometime later and he realized with a jolt that most of his classmates had already left. Not wanting to be late for his second consecutive class of the day, he sprinted - again - out of the classroom unaware of the demonic grin that graced the Maths teacher's papery lips.

The rest of the day, thankfully, passed uneventfully and with relative quickness. After catching up with most of his friends - or rather the few he had that didn't think he was weird - in History and during the lunch break, Percy headed for his final and favourite class: Latin.

He'd been surprised when his mom had suggested he take it, but even more so when he found he actually liked it and it was the only class where he seemed to truly excel. It was also the only class with his best friend Grover.

Grover had moved to Goode the previous year, a transfer from some school Percy couldn't remember in Oregon, but they'd soon become fast friends.

Mr. Isaacs had retired the year before, having had enough of teenagers' withering attitudes and general disregard for any and all rules. The prospect of a new teacher was exciting.

He calmly walked behind the limping Grover and shouldered the tawny-haired boy's backpack, as the taller of the two took his crutches in hand.

"Thanks, Perce," he said gratefully, ignoring the snickers of those around them in the hall.

As the warning bell rang, the corridor slowly emptied and soon enough it was only Percy and Grover. They turned left and saw the blond girl from earlier and the spiky haired Goth Percy had seen in his Algebra class, talking painstakingly fast under their breaths. The blonde was shaking her head in clear frustration at whatever she was hearing, but soon stopped when she caught sight of the two friends.

As they walked past them, he thought he saw Grover give them a look, but then again he could have just as easily imagined it.

Mr. Brunner turned out to be best teacher Percy had ever had after barely ten minutes of class. The way he described myths, both Greek and Latin, was so incredibly detailed, one would think he'd actually witnessed them!

Not five minutes into the introduction of the year's curriculum, the blond-haired girl and the spiky haired Goth had entered the classroom, much calmer than they'd been in the hall. They took their seats at the back of the class, dragging their chairs as they sat down and pointedly ignoring everyone around them.

"Thank you for joining us, Annabeth, Thalia. Be sure to arrive on time next time." Neither girl replied.

The exciting tale of the origin of the Olympians followed and Percy was completely enraptured by older man's story, his sea-green eyes following the teacher's every movement. Though his ADHD often didn't allow him to sit still during his classes, he was rooted in his seat and for once he could see the words written on the blackboard with no difficulty.

"How did Zeus overthrow his father?" asked Mr. Brunner. His grey eyes lingered for one moment on Percy, searching for something, some kind of recognition, before moving to a classmate who had dozed off at one point. "Ah, Mr. Coulson, would you be so kind as to enlighten us?"

The boy in question blinked lazily, his chestnut hair messy and stuck up from where he was lying awkwardly on his book.

"Huh?" The teacher smiled indulgently and tapped the name 'Kronos' written in chalk.

"It seems as though you have fallen victim to the trickery of Morpheus. Try not to let it happen again, Mr. Coulson. Now, I asked if you knew how Zeus overthrew his father." Jimmy Coulson just stared at the Mr. Brunner, quietly assessing if his teacher was indeed sane. Most of Percy's classmates did, in fact. Percy crossed his arms against his chest, smirking slightly.

"Err... He err killed him?"

"In a way," admitted Mr. Brunner. "Anyone else? Percy perhaps?"

Percy met the teacher's eyes who waited expectantly. "Well, he didn't actually kill him. Zeus," and thunder resounded in the distance," used Kronos' own sword to cut him into pieces and then tossed them into Tartarus, but he didn't die."

Mr. Brunner's eyes gleamed brighter, a spark of silver in them.

"And how do you know that?" His tone was soft, but Percy could tell he was waiting for something, not just his answer.

"Titans don't die, especially not in Tartarus. According to the myth he's just imprisoned." Percy was pretty sure he'd never heard that little tidbit, but the memory of a three thousand year old war echoed in his subconscious and he saw them - shadows that fought fiercely with gold swords, one of them wielding an object shaped like a lightning bolt that shone brightly whenever it came in contact with its opponent's skin. One of them cried out in pain when the blade struck a shoulder and plunged into blood covered armor, cracking and distorting the metal at the opening.

More shadows soon joined in and arrows flew as fast as bullets, imbedding themselves in his chest and legs. Spears were thrown, a few hitting their target, others simply disappeared once they overshot the shadow crying out in pain. _It is done. You have lost, father. _

The memory faded in a blink of an eye and Percy felt so incredibly cold and he shivered when someone - a girl, gently touched his arm. Ears ringing with clanging swords, he couldn't focus on the girl's face, but her voice was soft, comforting. He was sure he'd heard it before. Her face was the last thing he saw before darkness claimed his vision, his limbs suddenly feeling heavy and everything ached.

He dreamt of a woman with dark hair - black like his and it cascaded down her back, falling just beyond her waist. Her eyes were so kind, so loving and they gazed at him with such familiarity that he wondered if he'd met her before. It felt like it.

Another figure - a man joined her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and whispered something unintelligible in her ear. She smiled and something stirred within him, a longing for something he thought he'd lost long ago. The woman reached out to touch his cheek, nothing more than a caress, but it brought tears to her eyes and he wanted to take them away, but the man did that for him and gently tugged at her arm, pulling her away from him. He didn't want that. He wanted to know who the woman was and why she was so familiar.

But they disappeared in a flash and Percy was left feeling empty.

Percy woke sometime later, eyes blinking as they caught sight of the fluorescent flickering lights of the ceiling above, and struggled to accustom themselves to the brightness of the room. He was no longer in his Latin classroom. He could tell from the heavy smell of antiseptic that emanated from every corner of the room. Nurse's office. Perfect.

He sat up, joints cracking as he did so and leaned against the white wall. The elderly nursed looked up from her magazine and stared blankly at him, eyes void of any emotion. Percy frowned and with no certain amount of difficulty hopped off the uncomfortable bed and waved a hand in front of her face. Nothing.

He was about to call for help when her hand reached out to grab his arm forcefully.

"M-Mrs. Walters?"

Her irises disappeared, fading into the white of her eyes and a cruel smile twisted and contorted the sweet and plump face of the nurse. Mrs. Walters' complexion changed into a very pale grey as her fingers turned into sharp talons, digging into the skin of her arm, drawing blood. His blood, however, held hints of a deep and rich gold mixed in with crimson.

The woman's smile became even more sinister.

"_I've been waiting for you, Perseus Jackson_," said the nurse - _thing_. Her claws dug deeper into his arm now dripping with red and gold blood and Percy screamed.

Mrs. Walters laughed, a terrifying sound that bounced off the walls and forever embedded itself in his memory. He was dreaming, right? This was all just a nightmare. A horrible nightmare.

Black leathery wings began to emerge from Mrs. Walters' back, stretching the fabric of her shirt to the point of ripping it, until they finally opened up like a bat's wings. The monster let out a wail as a set sharp yellow fangs slowly surfaced and replaced her denture. The fake teeth dropped to the ground with a thud.

Dark mist shrouded his feet and began to crawl its way up his leg. Percy felt numb, his vision darkening (again) and he no longer felt in control of his lower limbs as they slowly began to shake uncontrollably, to the point where he could no longer hold himself up. Knees dropping to the floor, the creature never let up on his arm, that now throbbed painfully.

Mrs. Walters bent into a crouch, her foul stench making him dizzier and more nauseous by the minute - and pulled his neck closer to her razor-sharp teeth.

The door swung open and hit the wall with a loud bang. All Percy could see was a flash of gold and a shower of something that resembled dust before he lost consciousness for the second time that day.

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_**So, what do you think? Is it worth continuing? **_

_**If anyone's interested, I'm looking for a beta (or several) to help me out and to kick my arse when I'm procrastinating, which I tend to do A LOT. **_

_**Cheers, guys :)**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Terribly sorry it took so long to update, but school unfortunately takes priority :( (and I really wish it didn't). Anyway, hope you like it and don't forget to leave a review! **_

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Chapter 2

Annabeth Chase hadn't batted an eye when Grover had contacted Camp, requesting assistance with a potential half-blood. It happened all the time. But her enthusiasm for a reprieve from guard duty had quickly turned to skepticism when the satyr informed her of his location.

What in the gods name was he doing at a high school? Half-bloods rarely made it past eight years of age without being attacked by the frightful monsters of Tartarus and unless the demigod in question possessed a latent talent for mist manipulation, - which she seriously doubted - he or she could quite possibly be a child of the Big Three.

Gods, she hoped she was wrong. Tension among the Olympians had reached unimaginable heights over the past two years or so, ever since her former friend, Luke Castellan, had stolen Zeus' lightning bolt from Mount Olympus itself. It was only thanks to her mother, Athena, that war had been avoided. A war that would have sent both mortal and immortal worlds tumbling into chaos.

The school was nothing special. Made up of four connecting buildings, Goode was your perfectly average metropolitan high school. Plenty of trophy cases littered the sickly yellow painted halls, she noted as her grey eyes expertly scanned her surroundings for anything out of the ordinary. Blue and yellow banners were strung up above each case with a simple "Go Sharks!" written in black marker. At first glance, Annabeth guessed the swim varsity team was the source of most, if not all of the trophies.

She paused in front of the glass case filled with framed photographs where one face stood out from the rest. A boy who looked to be around the same age as her, with messy black hair and sea-green eyes that reminded her of the azure depths of the Canoe Lake at Camp Half-Blood on a warm sunny day, smiled up at her from beneath the glass. For some inexplicable reason he looked remarkably familiar. She'd seen those eyes before.

Shaking her head in bemusement, Annabeth continued her inspection of the case. She spotted Grover in one of the photographs on the far left of the shelf, holding up his crutches towards the ceiling of the cafeteria. His expression was triumphant whereas his mouth was full of nachos with molten cheese dripping down his stubbly chin. Her lips twitched in amusement. _Typical_.

While the warning bell had rung a while ago, Annabeth was in no hurry to get to her first class. Mist manipulation was one of the many perks of being a half-blood and her quest was far more important than Spanish.

The blonde turned a corner and the next thing she knew, she was on the floor staring up at apologetic sea-green eyes.

"Umph!" Annabeth glared at the mortal, annoyed mostly at the fact that he still hadn't gotten up yet. "Well, are you going to get off of me or what?"

She didn't wait for a reply and unceremoniously shoved him off her. She refused his help after slipping to the floor again and stalked off in the opposite direction, ignoring the strange butterflies in her stomach. In her annoyance, Annabeth hadn't even recognized the boy she had been staring at for the past ten minutes.

Her first classes of the day passed with unsurprising ease and she was beginning to suspect that Grover had been overreacting. Of course, she should have known something was bound to go wrong.

The first sign of something amiss had come after lunch, when a hand had tapped Annabeth on the shoulder while she retrieved a Latin book from her locker.

A pair of electric blue eyes greeted her almost sheepishly as recognition dawned on the daughter of Athena.

"Thalia!" Annabeth wrapped the girl with short-spiky hair in a warm hug, drawing an amused chuckle from the dark-haired girl.

"It's good to see you, Annabeth," she said, when Annabeth finally released her.

She looks older, thought the blonde as she regarded her friend. Though forever immortalized as a teenager, Thalia's features had somehow sharpened, no longer reminding her of the lanky girl that had saved her from a monster attack in a dark alley when she was seven.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hunter business. It's getting worse, Annabeth." Annabeth frowned and ran a hand through her curls, rubbing her temple.

"How bad?"

"Bad enough for Artemis to send me and Phoebe to investigate the increasing monster activity in the area," replied Thalia, gesturing to a girl with dark brown hair that stood a few feet away from the two friends.

"Monsters? But I haven't-," she paused, catching sight of Grover and the boy that had fallen on her earlier. _Perhaps we should have this discussion in a more private place_. She mouthed a 'Later' to Thalia who was quick to catch on. The satyr shot them a look before following his friend into the adjacent classroom, limping as he crossed the doorway.

She was mildly surprised to see Chiron sitting behind the desk when she and Thalia finally entered the classroom, but was quick to hide it behind a mask of indifference when he reproached them for being tardy.

It was uncommon for the activities director at Camp to personally see to a potential half-blood, but she figured that with all the rumours surrounding the area and the involvement of the Hunters of Artemis even the centaur's curiosity was peaked. Still she dreaded the state her home would be in after being left in the perhaps not-so-capable hands of Mr.D.

While Annabeth's mind processed all the new information, her thoughts running a mile a minute - a perfectly normal occurrence for a child of Athena - Chiron (or did she have to address him as Mr. Brunner?) drawled on about the demise of Kronos.

The sound of something heavy falling to the dull white tiles of the floor awoke her from her musings. Without thinking Annabeth drew her knife from its hidden sheath. She must have startled the rest of the classroom in her haste, or rather those that still hadn't awoken from their boredom-induced sleep, for they looked at her in abject horror, staring at the object in her right hand. Annabeth's eyes became frantic as they searched for the source of the noise. Months of being on the run all those years ago had taught her a thing or two about staying on her toes. Also demigods and loud noises just didn't mix. She mostly had the Stoll brothers to thank for that.

Her gaze fell upon the fallen figure on the floor; some of her classmates hovered over the body of the boy she had seen earlier with Grover, but it was Chiron's expression that troubled her most. Absently stroking his beard, he motioned for Annabeth and Thalia to join him at the front of the classroom.

She hadn't noticed before, but the man/centaur she had come to see as more than a teacher and closer to a father, was confined to a wheelchair, his equine legs covered by a somewhat worn red tartan blanket.

She kneeled next to the boy's head, tugging the errant hair strand out of the way of his eyes, her celestial bronze knife clattering to the floor beside her. Annabeth recognized him from the pictures and silently wondered what it was about him that drew her to him.

Behind her she heard the shuffling of feet and the opening and closing of the classroom door. Most likely someone had gone to fetch the school's nurse.

Unbeknownst to her, Chiron studied the face of one of his favourite students. He was sure the boy was not mortal. The way Annabeth was drawn to his aura was proof enough of that. He would have to wait and consult the Oracle once he returned to Camp Half-Blood to be sure, but the similarities were unmistakable.

When the nurse had finally arrived, a robust woman with rosy cheeks and glasses far too small for her eyes, most students scattered to the halls to gossip with their friends. Annabeth, Thalia and Grover lingered in the doorway of the classroom, while Chiron discussed what happened with Mrs. Walters, sharing apprehensive looks with one another.

Thalia crossed her arms against her chest, frowning, probably wondering what in the gods name was going on. Annabeth had seen that thunderous expression before, when she'd gone on a 'field' trip with some of the older demigods at camp to Mount Olympus. It had belonged to Zeus, king of the gods and ruler of the Skies. To her left Grover was twitching nervously, something he tended to do when he was overly anxious.

Wordlessly Chiron strolled passed them and silently beckoned them to join him in a more private room. Nothing could have prepared Annabeth for what he had to say.

Closing the door behind her, Annabeth took a deep break, steeling herself for whatever explanation Chiron had for their presence at the school.

"I trust you are wondering why Grover called you here, Annabeth," he started. When she nodded, he continued, " tell me, have you ever heard the story of how Poseidon and his wife exiled themselves to the seas?"

The daughter of Athena shook her head, not remembering ever coming across that particular tale in all of her studies of Greek history. Thalia just looked on, her expression unreadable.

"I suspected as much. It isn't something the gods like to remember. The cause of this fraction between the Olympians, the recent appearance of monsters that were thought to be long forgotten in the dark depths of Tartarus, Luke's betrayal - are all unequivocally linked by one event in our history. It all started sixteen years ago..."

_Endless midnight skies stretched above the immortal dwelling of the gods of Olympus where the moon cast its pale glow over the marble arches and buildings of the city. A plethora of golden torches lit the cobbled streets where the biggest festivities in nigh a thousand years were being held._

_Gods, nymphs and satyrs alike danced and sang to a multitude of songs, from the classics of old to a rather cheerful rendition of 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'._

_"Brother!" boomed Zeus, clapping the joyful Poseidon on the back, congratulating him once more on the birth of his newborn son, Perseus, heir to the sea god's extensive underwater kingdom. "I wonder if you have seen Hades. I wish to speak to him."_

_Poseidon shook his head and resumed gazing at his wife who leaned against a column towards the exit of the temple, cradling a bundle wrapped in a swaddle of green fabric. A few of the minor goddesses squealed in delight and cooed over the sleeping baby. Aphrodite had hardly left Amphitrite's side all day and had positively insisted on being named godmother to the child, much to the amusement of both Poseidon and Amphitrite. Ares had merely rolled his eyes at his girlfriend's antics, while Hephaestus scowled in a corner, wishing he was in the company of his machines._

_Even the stoic Athena had cracked a smile when the boy had been presented before the council earlier in the day, where Zeus had declared a new age of peace and understanding between the gods. _

_The celebrations carried on well into the night and with dawn fast approaching the newly crowned parents had retired to their private quarters on Olympus, gently tucking in Percy before succumbing to slumber. _

_A loud noise awoke them from their sleep and jolted the pair from their reverie. With a speed known only to the gods, Poseidon had raced to the room next to their own and suppressed a sob when he caught sight of the overturned crib and smashed glass. Amphitrite was quick on his heels, covering her mouth as a startled cry escaped her lips and tears streamed down her cheeks. _

_Their boy. Their Perseus kidnapped..."_

Chiron let his words sink in for a moment before continuing, "As you can well imagine, Poseidon was furious, demanding that his son be returned to him immediately, but no one came forward. He began to suspect that his own brothers had conspired against him and in the end he and his wife exiled themselves."

Annabeth thought about the painted mosaics that adorned one of the many elegantly decorated halls of Olympus, trying to recall an image of the estranged god. Sea-green eyes. That's where she'd seen them before!

"You think he's Perseus!" she exclaimed with a gasp. Why hadn't she seen it sooner?

Chiron wasn't even given a chance to reply before a scream that sent chills down Annabeth's spine, tore through the air. She moved on auto-pilot, hand tightly clutching her bronze dagger and headed for the general direction of the scream. She winced when another followed. _I hope I'm not too late_.

The door flung open with a quick turn of her hand and she threw her knife with deadly precision, hitting the monster right between the eyes before it could sink its poisonous fangs into Percy's neck.

Percy slunk to the floor, trying to stem the bleeding coming from a large and deep gash on his arm. Annabeth rushed to his side for the second time that day and held his head up to stop him from falling unconscious.

Thalia was second to arrive to the nurse's office followed by the slightly disadvantaged Chiron and Grover. Thalia reached into a side pocket of her blue backpack and retrieved a small golden square. Ambrosia.

She kneeled next to Annabeth and as gently as she could coaxed Percy's mouth open.

"Percy, you need to trust me. Eat this," she said. The boy's eyes were unfocused and his forehead beaded with sweat, but he obeyed the spiky-haired girl's command and ate the proffered biscuit. "Good. Now I need you to listen carefully: you're not going to remember any of this."

_Percy_

The torrential downpour continued on throughout the night, pelting rooftops and windows alike with a never-ending stream of water, the likes of which Manhattan hadn't seen in decades.

Percy Jackson thrashed and turned in his bed, fists clenching the navy sheets as nightmares ravaged his mind. He dreamt of the sweet, pudgy nurse Mrs. Walters, a woman in her late forties who never so much as raised her voice, turn into a horrific monster with claws as dark as night and eyes as white as the snow that would often fall over New York City.

He awoke with a gasp, clutching his erratic heart that pounded furiously in his chest. Sleepy sea-green eyes scanned his surroundings, searching for the monster that had clawed at his arm with deadly talons. He remembered the monster's foul breath as pearl white fangs had inched closer and closer to his jugular, and the mist that had wrapped around his feet, trapping him in a hazy fog.

Reassuring himself that he was indeed in his room, Percy ran a hand over his face. How did he get home? The last thing he remembered was leaving the nurse's office after being excused from Latin with a migraine.

His mouth tasted sweet, like he'd just eaten a plateful of his mom's blue cookies. She was quirky like that and he loved her for it.

He felt a flash of fear as lightning lit up his room and the following thunder shook the window of his bedroom, sending a tremor of panic through his entire being. Percy had never been afraid of thunder and lightning, so why was he so scared all of a sudden?

As he moved to roll up the sleeve of his green pajama shirt, he noticed the faint outline of claw marks.

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_**I'd originally planned for this to be from Percy's POV, but Annabeth had other ideas. Oh well! I'll try update as soon as I can, but I really can't make any promises D:**_

_**PS I'm still looking for a beta if anyone's interested.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Hi, guys! Just a quick shout out to all of you who have reviewed, followed and favourited my story, you have no idea how much I appreciate it :) Not overly happy with this one, but I really wanted to post something since I missed my self-imposed Sunday deadline. **_

_**If you find any typos just let me know and I'll go back and fix them :) Hope you enjoy! **_

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Chapter 3

Percy groaned at the sound of his buzzing alarm clock. _Nope, forget it. I'm staying home today_. Safely wrapped in a cucoon of warm blankets, he turned onto his stomach, pulling his pillow over his head and effectively shutting out everything that wasn't sleep related.

That is, of course, until his mother came into his room. He'd barely begun to doze off again when she'd opened the blinds, tendrils of light creeping across the room and lighting up the dust motes that lingered close to the window. _No, no, no_.  
Percy held onto his covers tighter, almost daring his mom to rip them from him and closed his eyes once more.

Sally Jackson-Blofis sighed at the childish antics of her son and with skills that only mothers possess, tore out the blankets right from under Percy's legs.

"Mom!" came the outraged cry. Sally merely chuckled and exited the room to prepare breakfast.

Percy sat up, rubbing at the sleep in his eyes and cursed the gods (_gods?_) for early mornings. He showered quickly and readied himself for another day of school, already dreading returning to Goode. How was he going to survive a whole school year?

His mom was busy preparing breakfast at the stove while his dad read the morning paper at the table when he walked into the kitchen, dragging his feet along the carpet. Already dressed for work, Paul Blofis was a high school teacher, at Goode in fact, who taught English Lit. freshman year. The salt and pepper-haired man had met his mom at a local art show in a gallery where his mom worked part time three years ago. She said they'd fallen in love almost at first sight and he believed them. He treated her right and that was all Percy cared about.

He'd never met his dad and Percy never asked about him. Some kind of unspoken rule between him and his mom.

Glancing outside the window as he took a seat at the table, he noticed with satisfaction that it wasn't raining, though the sun was still hidden behind a blanket of clouds. Below, the busy Manhattan streets were bustling with people going about their business, trying to catch a cab or head to the nearest Metro station.

Percy dug into his plate of pancakes, shoving mouthful after mouthful down his throat as if he hadn't eaten in a week. Even Grover would be shocked. Paul merely raised an eyebrow while his mom muttered something under her breath, but he wasn't really paying attention.

"Hey mom, what time did I get back yesterday?" he asked, rinsing his plate before setting it in the dishwasher.

"Mmh? Oh, just after lunch. Why?"

"No reason," he muttered absentmindedly, while moving to the couch in search of his sneakers. Grateful that they'd dried from the previous day, he hurried to finish getting ready for the day.

"Be careful," whispered Sally, but Percy had already shut the door.

The crisp morning air greeted him as he walked out of the apartment building, sending another involuntary shudder down his spine. Although it was not cold enough to warrant a jacket, he still wished he'd chosen to wear something over his t-shirt to keep the chilly air at bay.  
He sat down at the bus stop next to a middle-aged woman wearing a clean pressed business suit and looking anywhere but at him. Percy drummed his fingers on his knee to pass the time, pleasantly surprised when a familiar blond girl had plopped down in the other seat next to the woman.

Twisting his neck to get a better look at the girl who had done nothing but glare at him since he'd met her the day before, he found she was rather cute. Hair tied back in a ponytail and obscured by a navy Yankees ballcap, she hadn't noticed him yet and Percy was rather anxious not be on the receiving end of another one of her glares.

"Hi," he said cheerfully, still trying to steer around the annoyed-looking business woman, "I'm Percy. We sort of ran into each other yesterday at school? Well, I ran into you. Sorry about that." He was aware he was rambling, but there was something about her that made him nervous.

The girl with grey eyes peared up at him curiously as if truly seeing him for the first time. She waited a moment before somewhat awkwardly sticking her hand out.

"I'm Annabeth," she said, "and don't worry about it." He shook her hand, lingering a few seconds longer than was strictly necessary, but Annabeth didn't seem to mind. _Annabeth_. Yeah, she looked like an Annabeth, he thought almost dreamily. Wait. What?

Shaking his head, he tried again, "So, what do you think of Goode so far?"

Annabeth pursed her lips, but her eyes twinkled with mischief, "I don't know. Is it normal for students to fall out of their chairs during class?"

"Wiseass." She laughed at that, a full blown laugh that made him smile. The woman sat in between them had had enough and huffily stood up to wait for the bus just outside the booth. They shared another laugh at her expense and waited in amiable silence.

The bus was crowded, more so than usual, forcing them to sit next to each other at the front of the bus. Despite the heavy air and noise that permeated the small enclosed space, Percy was completely aware of his and Annabeth's close proximity, their thighs brushing against each other with every bump in the road or sharp turn. He felt his heart beating like it wanted to burst out of his chest at every small movement she made. Percy's fingers twitched when she tucked a wayward curl behind her ear. What on Earth was wrong with him?

"What do you remember from yesterday?" she asked carefully a few minutes later.

Percy paused for a moment, frowning, "Not much, really. I don't even remember how I got these," he said, pointing at the three pale parallel lines that ran along his forearm. Annabeth paled visibly, silently cursing the fact that she hadn't seen them sooner, but her eyes were calculating as she fixed her gaze on him. _Maybe Chiron's right. _

"Did I scratch my arm as I fell or something?"

Effectively snapping her out of her musings, she mustered a quiet 'Must have' before ending any hope Percy might have had of furthering the conversation.

Annabeth was first off the bus when the doors opened in front of Goode, speeding off without another word and leaving a slightly bewildered Percy in her wake. He didn't see her again for the rest of the day and Percy definitely got the feeling she was avoiding him.

By the time lunch rolled by, he was _extremely_ grateful he'd had an excuse for missing Mrs. Dodds' detention the previous day. The teacher had been in a mood every since he'd walked into class, glaring at him and probably wishing she could crush him into oblivion. If only Percy knew how accurate his assumption was. Even as he sat next to Grover in the cafeteria he could feel her dark eyes boring into the back of his skull from a distance.

Percy was slightly disappointed when he still hadn't caught sight of Annabeth by the end of the day, or even the spiky-haired Goth that was with her the day before. Grover had gone suspiciously missing after History despite his promise to help Percy out at the store later after school, but after his friend hadn't responded to any of his five calls, he gave up and headed to the school's pool to speak to his coach. The balding forty-year old man who was in charge of Goode's varsity swim team was surprisingly understanding of his predicament and promised him that he could try out with the sophomore hopefuls the next day.

* * *

The fish on display were significantly less impressive than those of the New York Aquarium that took up fourteen acres of the Boardwalk on Coney Island. Run by the aging Mr. Porter and his wife, just a few blocks from his parents' apartment, Percy often volunteered at the shop to help out with the heavy lifting in the storage area of the family run business.

Dozens of exotic fish peered up at him curiously from where he sat behind a desk, checking that everything was in order for when the delivery man would arrive with the next order of kelp. He was scheduled to arrive in the next ten to fifteen minutes and deciding that some fresh air was in order after spending the last two hours shuffling boxes about, he exited the back door into an alley.

The alley was void of the usual crowd that would often pop out for a smoke mid-afternoon or early evening, but as he glanced up at the darkening sky he could see why. Another storm was brewing above, threatening to unleash another heavy downpour. In the distance Percy could see a flash of lightning striking the very top of the Empire State Building , followed by a violent clap of thunder that had his ears ringing. Light droplets of rain began to fall before a barrage of water descended. The air around him chilled suddenly and subconsciously Percy made for the door of the store, just as a white mist enveloped the city streets.

A lone figure emerged from the wet fog, walking purposely towards him with deliberate slowness. Percy couldn't make out any distinguishing features, but he certainly wasn't prepared to wait around to find out what the would-be assailant looked like. His arm twitched in pain with each approaching step of the figure. Shutting the door behind him and fumbling for the light switch, he drew his keys from the back pocket of his jeans.

"That's not going to keep it out, you know," spoke an eerily familiar voice.

Nearly jumping out of his skin, he turned around, grabbing the first thing he could get his hands on. A broom. _Well done, Jackson_. His jaw quite literally dropped to the floor when he saw none than Annabeth standing before him, smirking.

"You were seriously going defend yourself with _that_?" she asked in amusement, not really expecting an answer.

Percy felt indignant. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't really expecting an axe-wielding murderer today," he said sarcastically, earning himself a chuckle.

"Who's the wiseass now?" He glared at her, ignoring the strange butterflies that fluttered in his stomach.

"And what do you mean? It won't keep out what?"

Annabeth didn't get the chance to reply as something heavy crashed against the metal door leading into the alley. When it didn't give away, the source of the crash screeched. Percy looked at Annabeth who seemed to be drawing a odd looking knife with strange markings engraved on it, from a hidden sheath.

"Annabeth, what's go-"

"Just keep calm and stand behind me. Whatever you do, don't let the claws touch you." The lights of the storage area flickered before turning off completely, leaving the pair in complete darkness. Percy felt a warm hand close around his, clutching it tightly. A few seconds later the emergency power kicked in and the blue fluorescent lights that hung upon the damp walls gleamed bright, casting a cobalt glow over Percy and Annabeth.

Footsteps echoed as a feminine figure emerged from behind a glowing fish-tank, a thin papery smile gracing her wrinkly features. Percy did a double take when he saw jet black leathery wings crop up from behind her back. It was real. It really happened. He wasn't crazy.

Well, that was a relief.

"_Perseus Jackson, we have been waiting for you_," whispered Mrs. Walters, though she no longer resembled the plump nurse. Sharp inky talons replaced her thick and sausage-like fingers, her facial features morphing into something more bird-like than human. Annabeth's hold tightened on his hand, her other firmly clutching her knife.

"Furies. I should have known."

"_Very good, Child of Athena. Now step aside and give me the boy or suffer a fate worse than death_," said Mrs. Walters.

"That's likely," remarked Annabeth," Let us leave and I won't send you back to Tartarus." The creature merely laughed and lunged for Percy with supernatural speed. Annabeth pushed him out of the way, taking the brunt of the collision, and she slid across the floor, pulling the monster with her. Her knife had slipped from her grasp when they had collided and she now struggled to keep herself conscious as the Fury's foul breath filled her senses and its talons inched closer and closer to her face. Her hands held the creature's elongated limbs at arm's length, but her strength was already beginning to fail her.

Meanwhile Percy, who had regained his wits, searched for something to help the mysterious girl that had just saved his life. He saw her knife a few feet away, glinting under the gleaming lights. As fast as he could, he grasped it, momentarily bewildered by the familiarity of the grip and the way the hilt seemed to mould at his touch. He slashed at the monster with all the strength he could muster, marvelling when it disappeared in a shower of golden dust. Annabeth fell to the ground, but was quick to recover with a shake of the head, her blond curls brimming with the strange dust.

"You've got a little something in your hair."

"Seriously, Percy?! That's the first thing that comes to mind?" Annabeth's expression was incredulous as she vainly attempted to rid herself of the monster's dusty remains. "You really are a Seaweed Brain," she mumbled.

"A thank you would be nice, you know. _I_ just saved your life."

"Yeah, well, we're even now. Come on, we better get out of here before her friends turn up."

"There's another one?"

"Two more, actually. And you'd be surprised to know that your Maths' teacher's one of them."

"Actually, no, I'm not surprised at all," he laughed. _Yep, definitely not crazy_.

* * *

_**I'll be moving the plot along in the next chapter. Some truths will be revealed, new places will be visited and a prophecy will be uncovered *cue the uuuuuhs* **_

_**Anyway, hope you liked it!**_


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